Obesity together with heart disease has been linked to high consumption of saturated fats and cholesterol found in most meat products. The American Heart Association (“AHA”) has recommended that individuals should, in order to reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer, reduce their daily intake of saturated fats and cholesterol.
Grills in which the radiant cooking elements and grilling space have been arranged vertically are particularly well adapted to cook the food on both sides simultaneously and to remove fats from meat that is being cooked. As the food is suspended between the cooking elements gravity and pressure of a holding clasp act to separate liquefied fats and oils from the food such that the liquefied fats and oils drip out of and away from the food being cooked. Vertical grills have been recommended by heart physicians as a suitable device to help patients and the public reduce their intake of saturated fats that would otherwise be ingested with conventionally cooked meats.
However, there were problems associated with prior art vertical grills. The prior art vertical grills used an internal drip tray to collect and retain combustible fats, oils, and waste solids that fall from the food being grilled between two radiant cooking elements. Unfortunately, the prior art vertical grills with an internal drip tray are prone to fire flare-ups and smoke.
As a result, if the internal drip tray is not cleaned thoroughly before each use to ensure there are no combustible fats or solids present in the tray, there is a propensity for the contents of the tray to combust. Further, with a view to combating this propensity for combustion, users were advised to add a small quantity of cold water to the internal drip tray before each use to reduce the volatility of the liquefied fats and oils that accumulate in the tray during cooking.
The danger of ignition resulting in fire or smoke was exacerbated by the fact that the drip tray in the prior art vertical grills was concealed within the body of the grill, where it was difficult for the user to observe the contents of the tray without first removing the drip tray from the prior art vertical grill. This would frequently result in users powering on the exposed electric grilling elements situated directly above the combustible contents of the drip tray without prior knowledge of the drip trays contents or the danger of fire and smoke these contents presented. Unaware that the prior art vertical grill's drip tray contained flammable fats and waste, many users would not take steps to remove and clean the tray before reinserting it into the grill with a quantity of cold water as instructed by the safety provisions that accompanied the grill.
In order to diminish of fire risk, some prior art vertical grill designs employ an internal drip tray that features a fire suppressing perforated metal cover. However, this design has its drawbacks. First, the perforated cover actually makes it more likely that a user of the device will forget to empty the contents of the drip tray as the retained fats and solid spoils are substantially obscured by the internal drip tray cover. In such a case where the internal drip tray is hidden from view within the body of the vertical grill, dangerous reserves of retained fats and oils can easily go unobserved. Further, the use of a perforated metal fire suppressing shield results in solid spoils and embers from above, coming to rest on the protective fire shield. These solids sometimes block the perforations resulting in an accumulation of fats and oils on the shield's surface. This may result in smoldering embers and ignited fats entering into the internal cavities of the device, and/or cause the fats in the drip tray to ignite despite the presence of the fire suppressing shield. It is a common complaint by users of the vertical grill that a blocked or inappropriately prepared internal drip tray can permit smoldering embers to activate kitchen fire alarms. Furthermore, by covering or compressing the combustible contents of the drip tray with a metal shield, ignition of its contents can cause the tray to explode.
It is an object of the present invention to improve on the design of prior art vertical grills and/or to substantially ameliorate some of the shortcomings of the prior art vertical grills.